Memeorandum

September 27, 2013

OK, So There Is Crying In Baseball

I have never seen a player like this and I have never seen a farewell scene like this. Nor do I imagine I will again, although the bar has been set pretty high for the Derek Jeter farewell.

And let's nod to the very gracious Tampa Bay Rays, who have about a quarter of the Yankee attendance and a quarter of their payroll. They still need to win these games to make the playoffs but took a moment to acknowledge both Rivera and Petitte.

I am not a Yankees fan because they decided to not allow my family to sell to them. We were the providers of gloves, balls, bats and equipment to the Giants and Dodgers. Long Island had a lot to do with it. But we still held the territory for Wilson, Rawlings, McGregor and Spaulding. My grandfather said, forget them, they will be in California before you can count.

Well was he wrong and as a result we lost both the Dodgers and Giants and that folks is how making bad decisions loses market or votes.

On the other hand, Mariona Riviera is a true HOF pitcher and deserves every accolade he guess.

Well, I've been a Yankee hater since 1964, so I must say this. Mariano R is a living Saint. He gave up millions, maybe tens of millions of Dollars by not pushing his free agency rights into an open market bidding frenzy -- TWICE. He's been nothing but decent, honest and humble for over 15 years-- and did on the Yankees. yes the Yankees, a group led by a Fornicating Egomaniac ( Jeter) Cheats (ARoid, Clemens, Pettite, Giambi and on and on and on) a Moral Imbecile (ARoid again) and Borderline Lunatics (Cashman and Clemens again). For Mariano to have been as honorable as he has been in that environment, is worth canonizing- at least in a baseball sense.

Hey matt-- Doc Rivers is a solid NBA man he'll do well with that Clip talent. he's also has a wonderful public personna. He lived for several years in Stamford Ct adjacent to a public golf course where several Knicks used to play rounds, Doc, John Starks (his neighbor) and others. I used to tske my really little kids to the putting green after the pro shop closed down and we'd hit puts for family fun. One evening as we were walking on to the green, Doc was walking off. I introduced myself and he did likewise, then he spent a few minutes squatting down and chatting with my kids, telling them lovely things about being nice to the golf course and to their dad. Just a mensch. He grew up in a tough Chi Town neigh, so for him to be that way is remarkable.

The ClipJoint made huge strides last season and hopefully Doc can add the X factor which they still lack in the playoffs. That may get CP3 to channel his massive talents in the playoffs where he's almost been at the TMac level of underperformance. Also Blake Griffin needs to continue to develop his game in facets other than being a dunk monster. After dealing with the likes of Rondo, KG and Pierce, Doc will consider the Clips as a paid vacation.

I loved the Yankees with all my heart from age nine (DiMaggio) all through the Mantle era. I had a Mantle scrapbook when I was thirteen. I have a baseball, personally inscribed to me with his best wishes, on my mantel piece.

I have hated them from day one of the Steinbrenner era.

I would say that the five greatest Yankees are certainly Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle and Jeter (to recite the names gives me chills - what other team in any sport can recite such an honor roll?). If there is a sixth it is surely Mariano.

Note the names who are not even candidates: Jackson, Rizzuto, Berra, Ford, Lazzeri, Gomez, Reynolds, Bauer....

There is a plausible argument that the all-time Laker team is better than the all-time rest-of-the- league team. I give you Wilt and Shaq as centers; put Kareem, who was good out to 18 feet, at power forward. Throw in Elgin Batlor and James Worthy at forward and a tandem of Magic Johnson and Jerry West in the backcourt. Throw in Gail Goodrich as ninth man.

Then those other teams canm ut them on their all-time rosters as well, and see how they stack up.. But I would submit that Shaq (three NBA titles) and Kareem (five) had their best years in L.A. Wilt had one in Philly and one in L.A.

It was their egos, CH. They just couldn't coexist. Shaq has always been a big goofball and Kobe felt he disrespected his skills and the game. Shaq would come into camp way overweight and play his way into shape and could get away with it because he's the Big Aristotle. He drove a lot of people nuts, but they still loved him.

Kobe had a little of the Jordan going, but was never mean like Jordan. Jordan was red dirt shotgun shack mean. Kobe is part Italian (in spirit).

When it came down to it, should the Lakers have kept an aging Shaq or a still on the rising Kobe?

Unfortunately, all good things end and that was a great era. The Lakers came back and did it again with a different cast, though.

The Lakers have 16 Championships dating from 1949. From 1972 there have been 11. The Celts have 16. Six since 1972. Mwa ha ha ha!!!!

I live in B-Ball nirvana and was a Clippers fan when they were in SD and when they were at the Godawful Sports Arena. I have my Norm Nixon #10 Clips Jersey and my Jerry West jersey.

Remember, Kareem came to the Lakers while still young. He is and always has been a class act. An amazing player who changed the game.

To me these days sports is simply a diversion for the masses. I just don't get fired up like when I was a kid because I've seen too much of the underside and how the game is played whatever the sport. It's not necessarily cynicism, but I am over investing any kind of real emotion into rigged games, corrupt sports, and base manipulation. The blinders came off long ago.

Thanks for that response, matt (and DoT); I don't take issue with any of it other than the Mavs coming from out of nowhere three seasons ago to beat the Heat restored some of the ability of professional sports to pleasantly shock me.

I agree, Porch. But that very long line will end under the stewardship of these dopes. I will take immense pleasure from watching these stupes writhe and squirm under the scrutiny of the NY media. I expect that their performance will be even more graceless than that of their felonious father.

--I can understand hating Steinbrenner. But how do you blame the players and the team for their boss?--

Only speaking for myself I loathe only those players who disgrace themselves.
Hating a team is usually not personal at all. It either stems from some win over a favorite and even then it has to be some cheap win like [from a Radier's persepctive] the contemptible Broncos as opposed to the miserable but respected Steelers. Or it is something unfathomable. I suspect I hate the Yankees because I'm a natural underdog fan which means you kind of have to hate the Lakers/Yankees etc.

Who are we to prefer Shakespeare over Phil Spector? If Shakespeare is so hot, how come it's easier to remember Phil Spector?

By coinkydink, during the Dogwalk today I thought for awhile about what would I be able to accomplish if I was like the character in Twain's novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and suddenly woke up 1,500 years ago in England.

I didn't think I'd be any good at making engines, or flying machines, or explosives, or cars, or bicycles, or electronics, etc, like Twain's character, because I don't know the particulars of construction of all that stuff, nor how to deal with the challenges of how to even get the materials (Metallurgy/mining/drilling/smelting).

But it struck me that what I would have that I could immediately impart with possible profound effect, would be the music in my head of the last 100-200 years, and especially the rhythm's and melodies and beats since the Jazz era. That I think would immediately translate and, as I understand musical history, stuff like vocalized Sinatra tunes or Jobim's Bossa Nova stuff or Rock would blow their sox kilts off.

Later I thought that using Fibonacci's Arabic numerals and our decimal system to do our standard math calculations on a slate with chalk, would make an impression, tho' it'd probably get me hung as a warlock. Likewise probably the same with Astronomy, grinding lens for glasses or crude telescopes (if I could figure out how to make clear glass), and possibly recommending crude vaccination with dead cow pox's.

So I ran out of ideas, other than recommending the making of stirrups for horses, and stuff like

"Met him on a Monday and my heart stood still
Da doo run run run, da doo run run
Somebody told me that his name was Bill
Da doo run run run, da doo run run".

How 'bout the rest of you Connecticut Yankees?

Anything else you can think of that would impress immediately and not get you hung as a sorcerer or witch if you woke up tomorrow in England of the 500's?

I have no idea, but I'll bet a beer on the A's simply because they were not expected to be anywhere close to winning their division so I think they have minimal pressure on themselves and can play loose.

I can only name about 4 guys on the A's since they get so little airplay up here or overseas, unlike the constantly broadcast Yankers or the other teams that have a quality Japanese guy pitching for them like Sue's Rangers.

The A's lead off with Coco Crisp, then somebody else, then Cespitis, then a guy with a beard and another guy with geek glasses, and that's about all I can name from their line-up, except they do have Kurt Suzuki from Hawaii, but he can't speak a lick of japanese:) Ganbatte' Oakland!

Speaking of "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," here's Blossom Dearie doing a very nice version of Rodgers and Hart's Thou Swell (1927) from their very early Musical adaptation of Twain's Book.

Bing Crosby did a great rocking version in the mid 40's with a blaring big band behind him, but I can never find it any more. Grrrrr.

Are any other parents out there outraged about this Brian Holloway story? Watch the video and listen to the investigator. We have 300 kids, 6 caught and indicted with 238 also ID'd but have not turned themselves in. And the parents, meh! Some kids have remorse, some don't - same for the parents.

Some parents want to sue Holloway for ID'ing the kids and pressing charges but Holloway is fighting back with this fabulous warning:

"TO THE PARENTS: If you would like to pursue a LAW SUIT; that’s entirely up to you. Here’s a heads you may want to consider; that will TRIGGER the biggest FIRESTORM of media that will invade every area of your life. Anything and everything, current and past will be brought to the surface to build the MEDIA FRENZIE to drive their ratings. I’m used to this, and have spent 30 years helping to prepare other NFL players about TRIGGER events that bring the FIRESTORM; without exception, no one was ever prepared. It effects your family, your relatives, your work and all your friendships; and that damage cannot be reversed for some reason. Again, I’ve lived with this a long time. It’s extremely difficult. Either way, I am prepared."

We need more parents and adults like Brian Holloway. However, it is very disturbing that we have a community of parents who don't give a s**t about the behavior of their kids to the point of suborning crime.

Now that made me laugh. Thanks. Nowadays I find I can mostly remember things under pressure. Otherwise, my once steel trap brain is now a sieve.

BTW Amy and I were talking about how rare childhood memories are. What can you recall under the age of 4? Most everything I recall from grade school is something bad that happened. And I average about one memory for each year.

Daddy @3:45am, I'm with you, I wouldn't be much help on all the big industrial innovations like steam engines or even electricity. But I could tell them some jokes I'm pretty sure they'd never have heard.

I could teach them calculus and statistics, which might not interest them very much, and lots about music that they would probably think was bizarre. The best I could do for them is teach them the ideas of Adam Smith.

Well Daddy unless someone came with me who knows how to make epoxy and plywood I'm not sure how much I would advance things. Especially without any whiskey. The Vikings did move ship design forward significantly, so there's that--and I don't think anyone had thought about a catamaran.

The Vikings did move ship design forward significantly, so there's that--and I don't think anyone had thought about a catamaran.

Posted by: boatbuilder | September 28, 2013 at 12:49 PM

Catamarans were already being built and used extensively by south seas 'islanders and southeast mainlanders , and the sturdy and stable hulls of early dhows in the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans was such a successful design that it is still being incorporated into modern day vessels. Darned clever and resourceful, these humans, especially in their maritime ventures, skills which extended to the development of manned flight and air warfare, also. Once men could sail, it was inevitable that they would fly. Many of the principles are similar. The Vikings made cool helmets.

My folks live in Tampa Bay and as ardent Rays fans of course hate the Yankees, but when Steinbrenner died, everyone in the area had a story about his quiet generosity--kids sent to college on his dime and things like that. He seemed a barbarian but was in his private life a great gentleman. Just for the record (as in the Book of Life)--